Drop-feeding device for glass-machines.



L.A.DBEY. DROP FEEDING DEVICE FOR GLASS MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 14, 1914.

Patented July 13,1915.

hY/( W 1 LEO A. DREY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

DROP-FEEDING DEVICE FOR GLASS-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 13, 1915.

Application filed December 14, 1914. Serial No. 877,070. I 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEO A. DREY, a citizen of the United States, andresident of St.

Louis,.lvlissouri,' have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDrop-Feeding Devices for Glass-Machines, of which the following is aspecification containing a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in drop feeding devices for glassmachines, wherein a chamber is provided about the discharge orifice of afurnace and in conjunction therewith, forming at times one wall of thechamber, a glass cutting means, which chamber and cutting means operateconjointly to produce measured quantities of glass, confine the measuredquantities during their accumulation in a chamber which is closedagainst the admission of outside air and which is heated by radiationfrom the furnace, support the measured quantities of glass during theiraccumulation so that "all, or nearly all of the surface of each measuredquantity, except its bottom is in free suspension and enveloped in heat,during its accumulation or flow from the furnace, release the support toallow the measured quantity to drop into a receptacle, such as a mold,located directly beneath the chamber, thereby causing an attenuation oftheglass above the measured quantity and finally, to bring the cuttingmeans to a position closing the chamber, which cutting means in thismovement operates to sever the measured quantity, at the attenuatedportion referred to;

The object of my invention is to provide a heated chamber through whichglass in measured quantities may be conducted without contacting withthe sides of said chamber under normal conditions of operation directlyto a receptacle, such as a mold, with out subjecting the glass to chilland to minimize contact with the glass during its conduction from thefurnace to the mold.

With this, and other objects, which will be made clear, my inventionconsists in certain details of the construction and arrangement of partswhich will be hereinafter fully described, pointed out in my claims andillustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is atransverse, sectional elevation of a furnace boot having a meansembodying my invention applied thereto, the

cutting means being shown in a closed position. Fig. 2 is a view similarto Fig. 1, showing the cutting means in an open position.

Referring by numerals to the drawing, 5 designates the body of a boot,and 6 the sup porting harness therefor. Formed. in the bottom is atrough 7 leading from a glass tank, not shown, and formed verticallythrough the boot body is an opening 8, intersecting the trough. In thisconnection I wish to be understood that I contemplate the application ofmy improvements directly to furnaces, glass tanks, crucibles andanalogous structures, as well as to the boot shown.

Arranged within the opening 8, at its top, next adjacent the trough 7 isa bushing 9, whose outer surface forms a glass tight joint with theopening 8 and through which a discharge orifice 10 is formed. Thisbushing is readily removable, as will be hereinafter explained, and itsopening and length form part of the means for'controlling the quantitiesof glass. Cooperating with this bushing is a plug 11, operable in acommon manner to regulate the flow of glass through the orifice in thebushing. Arranged in the opening 8 in the boot beneath the bushing 9 isa sleeve 12 which constitutes the support forthe bushing.

Secured to the harness is a head 13 having an opening 14 therethrough inregistration with, but of a lesser dimension than the boot opening 8, inorder that a supporting ledge be provided for the sleeve 12, and carriedby the head are the parallel rails 15. Suspending from these rails is apair of knives 16 and 17, which are arranged to slide in oppositedirections between said rails, and which knives are connected with theoperating arms 18.

The sleeve 12, the head 13 and the knives 16 and 17 constitute theheating chamber A,

which is the prime feature of my improvements. The knives as shown areof relatively hard and soft metal and their cutting edges straight toproduce butt cuts, but obviously other" cutting means may be employedwithout departing from the spirit of my invention. Surmountingeach-blade is a water jacket 19 having at their meeting ends surfaces 20which conjointly form a concaved depression which shapes the column ofmolten glass and in the building up or accumulating tends to hold thecolumn and accumulated mass from the walls of the chamber.

The practical operation of the device is as follows: Assuming the glassto be in a fluid state, and freely flowing from the orifice 10, theknives are brought to a closed position. The glass commencing with itsattenuated stream end is caught and accumulated in the concavity formedin the knives and is builded up into a mass having a substantiallyglobular base and a slightly contracted neck between the base andsource, which shape tends to slacken the flow of glass. During all ofthis accumulating period .the glass is confined in a chamber having,

by radiation from the furnace and the molten glass, a temperaturemaintaining the glass in a workable condition, with the accumulatedglass in free suspension, except for the bottom of the mass, which is incontact with the knives and all of which, the surface portion of thebottom of the mass, enters into the bottom of the article free fromstreaks and chill marks. At this time, that is immediately following themeasuring or accumulating, the knives are by a quick movement withdrawnfrom beneath the mass which is dropped out of the heated chamberdirectly into a mold or the like therebeneath, and at the predeterminedtime the knives are closed.

In Fig. 2 there is illustrated the accumulated mass as after the knivesare withdrawn, showing the attenuated neck of the glass column orstream. The attenuated stream portion is caught in the cavity intheknives and a succeeding measured mass accumuated in a heated confiningchamber as beore.

By my improved device the predetermined gob or batch of glass out ofwhich the desired article is to be made is confined within a heatedchamber (deriving its heat from the receptacle containing the moltenglass) and the glass itself until it is ready to be discharged ordropped into the proper forming device, thereby providing a batch ofsubstantially uniform temperature throughout and free from air bubbles.

WVhile the discharge orifice, during operation, may be maintained at auniform capacity the flow of the stream of glass varies from free flow,at a time when the chamher bottom is in an open position, to a gradually.retarding flow during the time the chamber bottom is closed andsupporting the stream.

The chamber closing means are brought together at a time when the streamis freely fiowing and if it were not provided with the surfaces whichconjointly form a depression the stream end wouldspread to and engagewith the side walls of the closure, and tend to mar or chill thegathering superficially with a resultant marked article. The employmentof the depression has an additional advantage in that it shapes thegathering to conform more nearly to the mold and hence the gatheringwhen released will drop to the bottom of the mold, thus minimizing airbubbles in this operation, as well as facilitating the work of theplunger or other forming means. It will further be observed from Fig. 1of the drawing that the gob of glass out of which the article is to beformed is held within the chamber'in a substantially pear shaped form.This is a useful expedient in that it forms a base or bottom of the gobso as to conform to the bottom of the mold.

I claim:

1. A molten glass receptacle provided with a discharge orifice ofsufiicient diameter to permit the free flow of molten glass therefrom.in combination with an auxiliary chamber surrounding said orifice andextending therefrom, said chamber of sufficient diameter for its Wallsto be normally out of contact with the glass discharging from saidorifice, and a plurality of closing members for the chamber operating tosimultaneously move from beneath the lower end of the accumulated mass.

2. A molten glass receptacle, provided with a discharge orifice ofsufficient diameter to permit the free flow of molten glass therefrom,an auxiliary chamber surrounding said orifice and extending therefrom,in

which to receive a mass of glass discharged from said orifice, meanscomprising co-acting glass severing and forming elements for opening andclosing the outer end of said auxiliary chamber, severing the mass ofglass discharged from said opening and passing through said auxiliarychamber, and shaping the mass in the auxiliary chamber to the mold inwhich the article is to be formed.

3. A molten glass receptacle, provided with a discharge orifice ofsuflicient diameter to permit the flow of molten glass therefrom, anauxiliary chamber beneath said orifice and having a diameter sufficientfor its walls to be normally out of contact with the glass issuing fromsaid orifice, into which the glass flowing from said orifice isprimarily received, and means for opening and closing the lower end'ofsaid auxiliary chamber, sustaining the glass therein and separating themass of glass which has flowed through said auxiliary chamber from thatwithin the chamber.

4. A molten glass receptacle provided with a discharge orifice ofsuflicient diameter to permit the flow of molten glass therethrough, anauxiliary chamber surrounding the orifice and of sufficient diameter forits walls to be normally out of contact with the glass issuing from saidorifice, means closing the lower end of said chamber including means tosupport the bottom of a gob as it is collecting in said chamber, and

within the chamber a chamber,

means to sever the chamber.

5. A molten glass receptacle having a free flow discharge orifice, incombination with an auxiliary chamber below said orifice into which saidorifice directly discharges by gravity and of sufiicient diameter forits walls to be normally out of contact with-the glass discharging fromsaid orifice, movable means to support the bottom of the gob of glassduring" its accumulation, and actuating mechanism for said means.

6. The combination with a receptacle capable of holding molten glass,provided with a discharge orifice, of a chamber surrounding saidorifice, and means for supporting substantially pear gob as it issuesfrom said shaped gob of glass.

7. A molten glass receptacle having a discharge orifice, a heatingchamber of greater cross sectional dimensions than the orifice andcentrally disposed relative to a stream flowing vertically from theorifice beneath said orifice, relatively movable elements beneath theheating chamber comprising glass severing means, said means having adepression for centering the glass stream relative to the heatingchamber;

8. A molten glass receptacle having a discharge orifice in combinationwith a heating sions than said orifice, arranged to receive a verticallyflowing stream from the orifice and means for opening and closing thebottom of the heating chamber comprising glass severing means and havinga depres-v sion of lesser cross sectional dimensions than said chamberto receive the stream initially of greater cross sectional dimen- Iprising glass. severing means having a depression of lesser crosssectional dimensions than the heating chamber whereby to hold the streamor column of glass spaced from the walls of. the heating chamber.

10. The combination with a glass receptacle having a discharge orifice;of means surrounding the discharging glass and forming a heated,quiescent gaseous envelop for the issuing glass. Y Y

11. The combination with a molten glass receptacle having a dischargeorifice; of an auxiliary chamber surrounding said orifice Whose upperwall is formed by said receptacle, forming the bottom of said chamber,said chamber maintaining a quiescent heated gaseous envelop around theglass.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inpresence of two subscribing Witnesses.-

LEO A. DREY.

\Vitnesses:

DAVID SOMMERS, A. L. SCHRAM.

